Count Ossie Museum

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“I was on top of sound system, but I like something different all the time.“I used to hear Ossie come ah Salt Lane as a little boy listening and love the sound, so when I was on top I said, ‘I’m going to make some drum sounds with Ossie.’ --Prince Buster

"So glad to do something for Count Ossie. One of my greatest regrets is that I never danced to his music. I was so shy in those days, just learning and becoming a Rasta in my earliest days and too shy to get up and dance. These days I dance Nyabinghi in memory of him."--Barbara Makeda Hannah Blake/ Author/Film Maker/Honors Professor

"What I remember about my father is love and patience. We were always all over him and he would laugh; two of us would take a leg he would just love the attention."--Althea Williams/His Daughter

" Yuh know I'd like to see all reggae bands carrying a full set of Rasta Drums because the drums are a vital part of the whole make of Jamaican music today. But some people jus try to push thd drums aside by creating all kinds of substitute." --Legendary Count Ossie

Count Ossie felt that the stimulation of Rasta riddims serves to drown out the real sounds of the Rasta Drums
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"The thoughts I have regarding Count is of...Deep respect for commitment of family, faith, originality, nurturing a band, a group, at a time when it certainly was not a popular thing to do." -Roy Sweetland/ Photographer

"Anyone who didn't know Count Ossie can still know him through his music." -Yasus Afari/ Dub Poet

" For the short 10 years that I had my dad, my fondest memories of him was when he took us to St.Thomas, Yallahs and we would go home in his VW van full of mangoes.I can also remember every time I would visit him and lay next to him, under his arm; those were times of feeling totally safe from harm. I also enjoyed going to Hellshire beach and after 30 something years of his passibg I still love and miss him very much."-Olwen Williams /His Daughter

"I have nothing to say except, I love and miss him and if he was alive today my life would be better."--Andrea Williams/His Daughter

"Count Ossie was a clean hearted man. Although I was only two when he died, I remember him very well. I have never heard anyone speak badly of my father. Man like Ken Boothe, Bongo Herman, Dizzy Johnson and many others, always spoke highly of my father.I love him, in an extraordinary way, forever."--Clifton Williams/His Son

Count Ossie Pickney Meets ‘Positive Vibrations’: An Interview + a Preview of the Jan. 2, 2016 All-Nyahbinghi Program{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20732%20%2D%2D%3EJANUARY 2 · FRIENDS{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20735%20%2D%2D%3E {cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20738%20%2D%2D%3E Nyahbinghi drumming – the foundation of Rastafari music, which has profoundly influenced reggae since the 1960s – is the focus of my two-hour special on “Positive Vibrations” this Saturday, January 2. The opening segment will feature music by seminal Rasta percussionist Count Ossie (1926-1976) and an interview with his daughter Mojiba, also known as Count Ossie Pickney. {cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20741%20%2D%2D%3E “Positive Vibrations” airs from 9 to 11 p.m. @ {cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3Ewww.KDHX.org{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20744%20%2D%2D%3E; the stream can be accessed for 14 days @ {cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3EKDHX.org/positivevibrations{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20747%20%2D%2D%3E.{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20750%20%2D%2D%3E Nyahbinghi is hand percussion built around three drums – the bass, the fundeh and the repeater. Its forebears are African-derived percussion such as burru drumming. As Count Ossie, Ras Michael and others have shown, nyahbinghi music can also incorporate many musical instruments and elements of virtually any musical genre. But at the center are the drums and they transmit both sound and ideology. Jamaica has a long-standing tradition of resistance to colonialism. “We were fighting colonialism and oppression,” said Count Ossie in a 1972 interview, “but not with gun and bayonet, but wordically, culturally.”{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20753%20%2D%2D%3E Nyahbinghi drums entered the Jamaican discography in 1960 with the Folkes Brothers’ “Oh Carolina” featuring Count Ossie and drummers from the Rasta community. Count Ossie would go on to do many important recordings in the next 15 years as a session player and as a bandleader of the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari. Starting in the early 1950s he had several “camps” where Rastas congregated including local musicians, the most famous of them located in Wareika Hill. Many of the regulars and visitors would soon become groundbreaking figures in ska, Jamaica’s first indigenous popular music, including core members of the Skatalites like Don Drummond, Rico Rodriguez, Roland Alphonso, Tommy McCook and others. Count Ossie & the Mystic Revelation’s 1973 triple-album Groundation (whose title refers to the ritual gatherings of Rastas) set the template by blending jazz, hand percussion and spoken word. {cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20756%20%2D%2D%3E The January 2nd “Positive Vibrations” show will pay focus on many nyahbinghi artists across the Jamaican and diasporan map including Wingless Angels (Ocho Rios), Prince Tebah & the Sons of Thunder (Mt. Salem, outside of Montego Bay), Leroy Mabrak (Kingston), Bongo Herman (Kingston) and the living legend Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus (Kingston and Los Angeles). And the program spotlights the presence of nyah drums in reggae and dancehall music from the 1970s to the present day. Scores of Jamaican artists feature nyahbinghi drumming on their albums and in their performances as a way to assert a seriousness of message and to infuse militancy, spirituality and an African-ness in their Caribbean music. {cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20759%20%2D%2D%3E Count Ossie’s daughter, Moje Sana Romanetty, operates a variety of social media sites and composes daily inspirational messages. She writes poetry, is a spoken word artist and motivational speaker, and has appeared in music videos. Her projects including publishing a memoir and organizing a tribute album to her father titled Bleeding Drums: The Count Ossie Resurrection. She spoke to me on December 1, 2015 from her home in Kingston. Here is a short excerpt from that conversation.{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20762%20%2D%2D%3EMICHAEL KUELKER: Your father is well known but not necessarily well documented.{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20765%20%2D%2D%3EMOJIBA: Yes, oh that’s nicely put. [she laughs] Yes, yes.{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20768%20%2D%2D%3EMK: What can you tell me about growing up with Count Ossie as your father?{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20771%20%2D%2D%3EMOJIBA: I am one of Count Ossie’s youngest children, but I would say spiritually I am the most inspired by Him out of all of his children. Growing up my father to me is like a breath of fresh air. That is why even doing this interview is such a high and a joy for me, because I love speaking about my father. He enhances my peace of mind. His aura and his presence even now in his absence, is just a phenomenal one. He is such a man of love and cared so much about humanity. He is always concerned about the youths and families, especially in the Rockfort community. Count Ossie was always helping people, whether housing them or giving them support in whatever way he could. My father actually built a community center in Rockfort where he spend the majority of his life. He was originally from St. Thomas in Jamaica.{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20774%20%2D%2D%3EHe built a community center for the people in the community before he built a house for his own family! I mean, what kind of man does that? [she laughs] His actions spoke volumes to people. He wasn’t just known as the God of Drums. Yes, he is greatly admired, loved and respected because he is truly a spirited Rastaman. {cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20%2Freact-text%20%2D%2D%3E{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%20react-text%3A%20777%20%2D%2D%3EI used to watch him play, I always looked forward to that and I made a promise that one day I would play the drums. Today, I sleep with a drum beside my bed. And YES! I play the drum, but obviously I don’t play it anywhere near as professionally as my Father. No one plays the drums like Count Ossie. For he is who he was and shall ever BE! I fell in love with the drums from a very tender age. It is my favorite instrument. No other instrument has the effect on me like the drums, and that is the influence my father had on me growing up. Having witnessed how he responded and how he looked when he played the drum is something no one can never-ever give up. My Father is like God to me. My love for him is omnipotent and immeasurable. The Count Ossie Resurrection Bleeding Drums tribute album will be released early 2016. I am truly elated about the Count Ossie project. Count Ossie undoubtedly is a man of PEACE and LOVE!

MK: Respect for that. Your father cast a wide net. He influenced and interacted with so many musicians… A lot of musicians! Duke Ellington,Miriam Makeba, Mutabaruka, Nambo Robinson, Bongo Herman, Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus are just a few. Ras Michael and Bongo Herman told me personally that Count Ossie inspired them greatly. Ras Michael told me a story about how much he loved my father and how much of a good man he is. He also said that my father made his transition on his way to help a brethren. I have a lot of respect for Ras Michael and I didn’t know until recent years that my father had such an impact on him becoming a drummer. In Jamaica, he is known as a musical cultural icon. But as you rightfully said, there is not a lot of documentation still about my father. But I wrote a book – I haven’t published it yet – about my father. Akette Fundeh Love is a story about my father and also my life story. I have married our stories together. It seems as if I will have to add more information to the book for so much more has occurred in my life since then.

MK: What are your favorite songs of your father’s? MOJIBAThat’s an interesting question because I love all of my father’s music. I really do. You have the more popular ones like ‘Oh Carolina’ by the Folkes Brothers. My father became more globally known because of that song. I also love ‘So Long Rastafari Call You,’ ‘Wicked Babylon’ and ‘Four Hundred Years.’ Of course, ‘No Night in Zion’ has always been a favorite of mine and the Tales of Mozambique. Every one of his songs is a favorite of mine! [she laughs] After how many decades, I am always finding out something else about this man or having a mystical experience because of him. It is never ending.

"Well...I retain very fond memories of Count's many performances...down back in those days in the Victoria Crafts market; I still see him now belting out calypsos, jerkin'maracas to the boom of his rhumba-box man...with neck-string bulging with vocal energy!"--Stafford Schliefer/Artist-Painter

"Count Ossie's legacy continues to grow even to this day. Reggae and Rastafari culture owes alot of credit to the great Count Ossie. Tranquility, a path of Divinity."-Jah Waine AloeFerox

" His greatest contribution was to the stability of the community. He was a shepherd in the community. A strong man with a strong man with a strong will to overcome the trivialities of babylon. He helped to bring down many barriers against Rastafarianism durinh his lifetime; including finding jobs, being able to wear beards without molestation from the police and in keeping the community peaceful and respectable."-- Sam Clayton/Brother Sam Orator-Former Manager of the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari.

"In the midst of life there is death, here today gone tomorrow type of thing. As I, my father Count Ossie and his group performed in Old Harbor that day. The experience of losing him and my five months young baby brother tbat same evening has devastated my entire family tremendously. BUT yet we prevail with our heads up high, as I to keep my father's vision alive. My sister Mojiba has taken on the struggle to another front in the form of poetry/spoken word; as we stay strong in the faith of the true and living GOD, as truth reveals itself. SELAH.--Time/Count Ossie Jr.

Count Ossie and the Birth of Reggae

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David Katz explains how a single drummer became one of the most important figures in Jamaican music history.

The Count Ossie Project.

-COUNT OSSIE & THE MYSTIC REVELATION OF RASTAFARI COMMUNITY CENTRE.

The Legendary Count Ossie is beyond worthy to be honored in a way that reflects what he has built and left for his family and humanity. He is known as the leading door opener of Rasta Roots Reggae Music, SOUL MUSIC! He lived for peace, love and Inity. A humsnitarian at heart and in his actions. Count was the founder and leader of the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari. He relentlessly fought for the rights of Rastas and Drumming. He was chosen along with his group on April 21.1966 to welcome Emperor Haile Selassie I the First at Norman Manley International airport in Jamaica. His Majesty was greeted with divine chanting, riddims of a variety of percussions and the potent drum sound. As one of His offspring it my pleasure and responsibility to add value to his legacy. Count Ossie has received many awards. He was most recently Honored at the Irie Pesda Black History Month yearly gathering in North Wales on October 22.2016. The Count Ossie Resurrection -Bleeding Drums Tribute Album is the first project slated for the project. It will consist of 17 Tracks. A handful of conscious artists will be also be apart of album. The mission is to re-design the classical and magical music Count Ossie left and marry it with my voice poetically. Part proceeds of Bleeding Drums sales will go towards the refurbishing of the Count Ossie Community Centre in Rennock Lodge, situated in Jamaica East Kingston. Support in ideas, collaboration or monetary are embraced thankfully. In addition to the Bleeding Drums Tribute Album is a book I have written titled Akette Fundeh Love -(Count Ossie and Mojiba.) The book was written in 2013 by Yours Truly. It needs to be re-edited because of a series of important events that has taken place within the past four years that will certainly compliment the true life story of my Father and I. A documentary about Count Ossie and I is currently being discussed and must be made into reality. The very life of my father is a great inspiration. Endless of persons has expressed interest in wanting, or rather needing to see a film about the God of the Drums. Together in Love, Peace & Inity we can accomplish what we will. A special thank you to Burnett Coburn, Supa Dave, Ras Nik, Mo'Scherrie and Kevin Salmon for seeing and feeling the COUNT OSSIE vision.

Count Ossie Pickney vibing with John! John is from North Wales Jamaica Society and honoried I n I Beloved Father Count Ossie as apart of their BLACK HISTORY MONTH celebration on October 22.2016 in Wales! ALL PRAISES UNTO YAHWEH!

Kind words from the daughter of the late, great Count Ossie. Big up to all to helped and all who supported our first Irie Pesda festival!!